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"I made you uncomfortable."
Roy snorted. "I'll be there in ten."
* * *
Ten minutes later, Roy arrived. He opened Jack's apartment door without knocking first. Jack hardly ever locked it.
Immediately, Roy was greeted by the delicious smell of pizza as well as a chorus of greeting and ribbing from his brothers.
"How was construction?" Jack asked.
"Good," Roy answered. "Beverly is a great worker."
His brothers chuckled.
"So glad you decided to show up," Parker asked. "Are you and Beverly an item now, or what?"
Roy shook his head as laughter erupted around him. He took a seat at the dining table and grabbed a slice of pizza. "It's nothing like that," he said before biting into the cheesy goodness.
"Uh-huh," Ethan teased. "That was some serious flirting on Jack's part though."
Roy sighed and rolled his eyes but couldn't help the smile that settled on his lips as he remembered Beverly smiling back at him before she had driven away.
"I don't mind if you do like her," Parker said seriously as he sat down next to Roy.
Roy looked up from his pizza in surprise. Of all his brothers, Parker was usually the most serious about things—especially relationships—so for him to be encouraging it meant something more than just teasing.
Especially when you considered that Theresa Harris had broken Parker's heart when she moved to New York and then near contacted him again.
"Love blooming at the orchard again," Jack declared. His eyes gleamed with mischievousness. "Colton first and now you."
"It's nothing like that," Roy protested.
Despite what Roy claimed, his brothers continued to tease him about Beverly. Honestly, Roy didn't mind. He knew they were being friendly, and he appreciated them being supportive of his decision to hire Beverly.
Roy cracked a smile and took another slice of pizza before joining the conversation with his brothers. It was early yet, but he was so happy that he had decided to hire someone with the construction. He never would've been able to put the entire new toolshed together in one day all by himself, roof included. Working with Beverly felt like an opportunity for Roy to be able to prove himself—both to her and also himself—and for that Roy was immensely thankful.
He had felt like he'd needed something more, and maybe he was getting more than he bargainedfor with hiring Beverly, but in a good way.
Just how good, though, remained to be seen.
"Are you going to continue to eat standing up?" Ronald asked. He patted the empty spot between himself and Jack on the couch. Parker was sitting on the chair on the opposing wall. All of the furniture faced the TV, which wasn't currently on.
"That depends," Roy said dryly. "Can we start to talk about basketball?"
Jack smirked but obliged, and thankfully, the brothers all discussed basketball and new fishing techniques.
It was nice to just be around his brothers, talking and laughing together. They all worked together, yes, and they were split up over two different apartment complexes, although each of them had opted for their own single bedroom places instead of being roommates. Sure, they could've saved some money by living together, but they all wanted to find. God-fearing woman to love and eventually settle down with in a house.
Maybe with a white picket fences cliché as that sounded.
For just a few minutes, everything felt right in the world again, and Roy found himself smiling happily despite all of the stressors that freak storm had started. Now that his brothers weren't teasing him anymore, he found himself enjoying this moment, even if he had lost count of how many slices of pizza he had consumed. He probably shouldn't have another, though. He was ready to burst at the seams.
Roy was beyond beat, though, and not even ten minutes later, he realized he was nodding off some.
“I should get going,” he said, jerkin his thumb to the door. “I’m exhausted.”
“Hard work flirting all day long, huh?” Ronald joked.
